Reddit reviews Ultralight Backpackin' Tips: 153 Amazing & Inexpensive Tips For Extremely Lightweight Camping

Ultralight Backpackin' Tips: 153 Amazing & Inexpensive Tips For Extremely Lightweight Camping https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762763841/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UTFQAbW1Z1W4W

I really enjoyed Backpacking Light. The articles are okay but the forums are absolute GOLD. All of the users are super passionate about backpacking, especially about backpacking "lightweight." Aka, trying to carry as little as possible so you can walk faster and further/save your knees in the process.

It's a bit daunting to get into, I'll give you that. I also found this book to be super helpful.

I really enjoy Lighten Up! and Ultralight Backpackin' Tips as well. Those two really helped me think about what I was carrying on my trips. It made me a lot more weight conscious.

Does she hike much? If not, definitely do some day hikes with similar mileage and elevation gain to your planned trip so that she can make sure her sock and shoe combo works for her regarding blisters and such.

I feel like getting bad blisters could be a major bummer on a fairly long trip like that. Most other stuff can be conquered by a good attitude and snacks, but blisters on day 1 of 5 would be no fun.

You might find that either you reading a book written for beginners to remind yourself of what beginners need to know, or her reading one (depending on her preference) might help. Something like Allen and Mike's Really Cool Backpacking Book or Ultralight Backpackin' Tips or Long Trails by Liz Thomas might be a solid choice.

And of course, ask her if she has any concerns, what she's excited about, etc etc.

Regarding buying gear, don't forget that if you buy something used, and don't damage it, you can probably sell it for pretty much the same price you paid for it. So keep an eye out on /r/ulgeartrade and similar forums.

read these:

• https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hikers-Gear-Guide-Second/dp/1426217846/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492221108&sr=8-1&keywords=ultimate+gear+guide
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0762763841&pd_rd_r=MZ4RTRT92D49PH60B9RZ&pd_rd_w=ZqXZ0&pd_rd_wg=U1fFw&psc=1&refRID=MZ4RTRT92D49PH60B9RZ

I had a similar conversion about 10 years ago, also after a long hiatus (due to injury). Hauling big weight really starts to lose its charm as you age.

I used a scattershot approach (and it was rather hit and miss) until I got Mike Clelland's book, "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips", which had just been published. It's the smartest $14 I ever spent on backpacking gear, and it dropped weight from my BPW faster and better than I could have believed. He gives you a comprehensive approach that is not just about gear but also about mindset and technique. It showed me how to evaluate every single item in my pack from the perspective of a very experienced UL backpacker.

I was able to drop my BPW in half rather quickly -- without doing a lot of gear buying -- and then chip away at it one piece of gear at a time, picking and choosing what was next in a logical progression. Just about everyone one in transition finds that they achieve a "plateau" BPW that is not bad at all (well under 20 pounds) fairly quickly, and then it takes work to approach the "magical" 10 pound BPW.

It looks like you've already made some good choices. Keep up the good work.

A note on your pack; some years ago, UL backpackers often used packs that are considered to be "high volume" today -- about 60L, like your GG pack. You pack your bag/quilt, down puffies, and soft insulated items uncompressed, and that way they fill up the volume of the pack. It preserves the optimal shape of the pack for the best carrying behavior, it makes the entire pack soft and slightly squishy, and hence very comfortable to carry, and it makes packing up in the morning quick and easy. As a bonus, it makes your insulated gear last much longer; extreme compression is tough on gear, be it down or synthetic.

When I crossed over, my parents bought me a lot of outdoor gear. It was all exciting and cool and I loved it, but most of it was heavy, designed for car camping, and ended up going unused, like the snakebite kit and bright red fanny pack and campfire toaster. I’d encourage you to help support your new Scouts to go backpacking and go lighter - give them tools and knowledge and inspiration.

• A good-quality map of a backcountry area near you to help them plan an adventure, $20-$30.
  
  
• A pair of Darn Tough wool socks - they don’t stink, keep feet dry and warm in winter and cool in summer, and come with a lifetime guarantee, $15-$20.
  
  
• An annual pass to your local state park system, $20-$30.
  
  
• A practical how-to lightweight backpacking book, such as one by Mike Cleland, $10. (https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841/ref=nodl_) Ray Jardine’s Trail Life is great as well, but may be a little advanced for some.
  
  
• A lightweight cathole trowel, like the Deuce of Spades, $20.
  
  
• Sewing lessons and some fabric to start with. Seriously. Get them on the path to making their own gear and they’ll be set for life. (h/t to /r/myog).
  
  
• A good wool watch cap from your local surplus store, $10.
  
  
• A wool Buff, $13-$22.
  
  
• A lightweight packable daypack, like REI’s Travel Stuff Daypack, $30. It’s boring-looking but larger, lighter and cheaper than its more popular cousin the Flash 18.
  
  
• A digital kitchen scale for weighing their gear, $10.
  
  
• A hammock is a great idea. Even if they have troop tents, hammocks add versatility and flexibility. You can find serviceable ones for $20 (don’t forget to add straps).

Before you buy anything I would recommend you read this book. It might save you some time , money and trouble.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

I've found Backpackinglight's forum very helpful. In the gearlist section, people post their lists and get comments on them. Lighten Up is a short and simple book on the topic if you are completely new to lightweight backpacking. Also, "ultralight" is a loaded term. It implies a base weight (all the gear without food and what you're wearing) in the single digits. If this is what you really want, check out Ultralight Backpackin' Tips Otherwise, a baseweight in the teens are usually considered "lightweight" backpacking.

Also, don't just stick with stuff from REI. There are a lot of cottage industry stores that sell quality backpacking products. A few that I can think of off the top of my head are: Tarptent, Gossamer Gear, Six Moon Designs, Jacks R Better, ULA, Feathered Friends, Nunatak, Tenkara, and Bushbuddy. Of course, they are a bit more expensive, however, they are all well tested and trusted by a lot of backpackers.

Get your backpack last.

Buy these books before you spend any more money on anything else. They can save you a lot of money over the course of your upcoming months of gear-nerding out.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hikers-Gear-Guide/dp/1426209207

I'd recommend picking up a few books. Ultralight Backpackin' Tips by Mike Clelland, and Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide by Andrew Skurka for starters. These will help you a ton.

Then, what was just said, ask yourself with each item, "Am I packing my fears?" "Do I really need this?" and "What would realistically happen if I left this at home?" I'm seeing a ton of unnecessary and/or redundant stuff, not to mention all the heavy stuff.

For example, paracord, multitool, lantern, lots of heavy stuff sacks, an ultra-heavy water reservoir, full bottle of soap (you only need a few drops of that stuff), 3 heavy knives (a tiny swiss army classic or even a razor blade would do the trick), tons of excessive, heavy and redundant clothing (use a simple, versatile layering system with no redundancy), etc. Your first aid kit weighs almost 13oz! You can easily make a good one for under 3. You have a space blanket and two redundant fire starters (emergency only items) when you are carrying a gas stove and a sleeping bag (actual versions of the things your survival kit is supposed to improvise). The list is quite long.

Also, I'd take a serious look at some of the UL/SUL hammock guys on YouTube and get some ideas from their videos on how to dramatically simplify and lighten your hammock system. It seems incredibly complicated and heavy to me, esp. based on what I've seen online from other Hammock guys. For instance, a +6oz gear pouch? A suspension system that weighs more than your actual hammock? Yikes. Definitely take a look at lots of the lighterpack links you see in people's flairs on here too and just get some ideas for how to simplify, reduce, and eliminate items in your gear list. YouTube is your friend. There are tons of UL and SUL guys on there who camp in Hammocks. Learn from their experience and save yourself from having to re-live their mistakes.

Good luck and have fun! I know it probably seems overwhelming now, but just whittle down one thing at a time and you'll get there. You're already off to a good start with having all your gear in a list online to create accountability and show you the true weights of everything. It's fun to see how light you can go with your gear list and your back will thank you for it!

In addition to what others have already said (weigh everything and make a lighterpack/trailpost), also look at what other people are carrying. The sub is full of trip reports which all have gear lists. Compare those lists to what you're carrying to see what to leave behind and which items would benefit most from lighter replacements.

Just few examples from the sub:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/7k2ql7/10_pound_45kg_winter_appalachian_trail_thru_hike/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/93v7q1/so_i_thruhiked_the_ct_in_a_kids_batman_backpack/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/8awyax/after_79_days_and_30411km_my_7lb_pack_and_i/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/98ohsg/trip_report_99_day_pct_thru_hike/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/998tiu/78_day_pct_thru_trip_reportextensive_gear_review/

Stumbled on those after just few minutes of browsing through the top submissions.

Also Cam Honan's articles on the gear accomplished long distance hikers carry are pretty useful:

https://www.thehikinglife.com/2017/03/the-thru-hikers-gear-list/

https://www.thehikinglife.com/2018/04/the-thru-hikers-gear-list-vol-2/

And Mike Clelland's book Ultralight Backpackin' Tips can't be recommended enough:

http://ultralightbackpackintips.blogspot.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

So I was drafting a blog post on books this weekend. Copypasta:

Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide - Andrew Skurka

Ultralight Backpacking Tips - Mike Clelland

Lightweight Backpacking and Camping - Ryan Jordan

Trail Life: Ray Jardine's Lighweight Bapackpacking

Beyond Backpacking: Ray Jardine's Guide to Lightweight Hiking

Well, stating the obvious, there's a craze called ultralight backpacking of people who camp this way. It's not uncommon to see someone with 36L or less who has cooking, shelter, bathing all taken care of. You probably don't need stuff like shelter in your pack, but dig this:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368190775&sr=8-1&keywords=ultralight+backpacking

This book has a lot of cheap recommendations of how you can make gear you need. You can cook outside with an alcohol stove you can make with a fancy feast can and a hole puncher. "Heet" in auto section of stores is methanol, good fuel. Don't use indoors. Hostel backpackers use a coil on an AC power cord that you drop into water. Backpackers boil water and add it to dry meals, but you can buy lipton sides in a store for a buck. Oatmeal, peanut butter, trail mix, tuna cans, granola bars, coffee.

Even if you aren't camping per se you might learn a smaller way to get through life, like cutting your toothpaste handle in half.

For soap, you can get a lot of use out of a 4 oz bottle of dr bronners, that'll combine space for body wash, shampoo, toothpaste even. It's weird to use, foaming dispensers help.

For a knife you can take a razor blade.

Then I don't know what your situation is. I live on a boat so if you have any specific questions on how to find a smaller version of any household object, i can help.

What do you already have? Not everything needs to be replaced. A list with weights is always helpful. We like to weigh stuff, and we are obsessed with that (okay, not everyone is).

There are two books that really helped me Lighten Up! and Ultralight Backpackin' Tips.

you're welcome. If you want to pick up more I always suggest people read either of these books before dropping serious cash, they're both quick reads with funny drawings so an easy to digest format. You don't need either if you're just doing day hikes, but if you get into the bigger equipment and want to do overnights I recommend em.

Don't do what I did and buy an 85L pack that weighs 8-9lb by itself, ugh.

Ultralight backpacking tips

Lighten up

Check out these books if you haven't seen them yet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0762737344/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0762763841&pd_rd_r=KECR7BQ2FKBK8YEB8R5E&pd_rd_w=oEMgW&pd_rd_wg=jbk23&psc=1&refRID=KECR7BQ2FKBK8YEB8R5E

https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Mikes-Really-Cool-Backpackin/dp/1560449128/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1560449128&pd_rd_r=XKZNM6QW1FAMRP4Z1FPM&pd_rd_w=qJgYG&pd_rd_wg=AQN7T&psc=1&refRID=XKZNM6QW1FAMRP4Z1FPM

All very cheap used.

> Any required reading for someone not necessarily looking for a budget list?

https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

Relevant no matter your budget.

Buy this book and read it before you spend any money. This will give you a great idea of how to squeeze a lot of enjoyment out of hiking & backpacking (IMO). It might not all appeal to you, but there are some real great tips and philosophies in here that will help a new hiker.

ultralight backpackin’ tips

Check out the book Ultralight Backpackin' Tips by Mike Clelland. He put together a pretty comprehensive and digestible, and really nicely illustrated book that breaks everything down and explains the reasoning behind each technique and suggestion.

Andrew Skurka's book is also really well written, but Clelland's really emphasizes the fun and grooviness of ultralight technique.

Read Skurka gear guide before you buy anything & Ultralight Backpackin' Tips to get you in "UL mode', there rest will be sort of easy..

Learn to love trail runners - it changed everything for me

Here is the mobile version of your link

Of all things, the book "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips" (available here https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762763841), is what inspired me to start down the path of minimalism. It showed me what was truly important to have in that particular hobby, and general tricks on how to look at things and see what's important and why. Once I pared down, I experienced the happiness that comes with having little, yet still what I needed. That snowballed into paring down all my possessions.

Random, but if you like backpacking, could be a good catalyst :-)

This book is the best intro resource I’ve found to teach beginner’s the essentials.

If you don’t have any gear or friends to go with, you might want to try getting a hotel near a destination and doing some day hikes, or try a car camping trip.

Otherwise, just make sure you’re not getting in over your head - don’t go somewhere you don’t know, make sure you have the essentials especially navigation, and have fun!

Yes. In excessive detail:

While squatting over a cathole, 6" or deeper, you shit into the hole, then you wipe most of the shit off your ass with a smooth stone, clump of foliage, or paper product. You deposit that in the cathole with the rest of the shit.

Then you scoot to the side a bit and use water to wet your hand (for modern humans, usually the right hand -- left hand holds the water bottle), with the cathole catching the rinse water. With your wet hand (index and middle finger usually) you wipe your anus, rinse your fingers, wipe, rinse, repeatedly. Anus is now as clean as it would be after taking a soapless shower or using a bidet. Which is to say, more clean than just wiping with paper (the old saying: "if you got shit on your arm, would you just wipe it with toilet paper and call it good? no, you'd wash it off.")

Then you've got your right hand. Two fingers are rinsed off but not hygienic. Dry that hand with a bit of paper towel or grass, dry your ass, deposit in cathole. Then disinfect your hands. Some people use wet wipes for this and other parts of the process. I use alcohol gel, hospital-style. Hit the outside of the gel bottle and the water bottle while you're at it. Other people use soap and water.

This is roughly Clelland's method from "Ultralight Backpacking Tips".
https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

(All this is somewhat beside the point. Cholera usually spreads through poorly managed drinking water, not human-to-human fecal-oral contamination.)

Congratulations! I think it's very cool that you're going to be setting out to do this. I've thought about it. I don't think very many people have thru hiked this trail. There's a book about a couple who did it that might be worth trying to hunt down. The name escapes me, but it obviously has "Bruce Trail" in the title.

I would really suggest trying to go light weight with gear. Check out r/ultralight. I've found it MUCH tougher to go ultralight with gear from Canada than the States. I suggest giving this book a read for consideration:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

Also, here's an interesting article about someone who thru hiked it:

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2258732-walking-the-bruce-trail-end-to-end-in-30-days/

SO much more, but good luck!

That's just a free image floating around on the internet draw by Mike Clelland.

I HIGHLY recommend his Ultralight Tips book. His illustrations are hysterical and he's been a NOLS instructor all his life (so he knows whats up). I actually learned to telemark (backcountry) ski and winter camp using some of his older books (and amazing drawings).

I don't get any money from anyone for recommending it, but I bought mine here:
https://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Backpackin-Tips-Inexpensive-Lightweight/dp/0762763841

I found the inspiration in this book: Ultralight Backpacking Tips , Mike Clelland

If you go this route. Measure twice, cut once. I snipped a couple straps that probably could have stayed.